Persistence of Love
by SandDragon91
Summary: Vincent Valentine has traveled the land, and since the end of AC has avoided the company of his friends. He ignores their calls, but one of them is not going to be ignored. Ch.3 is up!
1. Annoying Arrival

Hey, this is the one and only author. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. _Oh my, another Yuffintine_…but hey I was bored, and when I'm bored I write. It's just this time, this is what came out. For the record, because I feel better putting this…** I do NOT own Vincent or Yuffie or any other characters or facts from Final Fantasy VII. **The only thing that's mine is the idea. And I know the title sucks…but I couldn't think of anything else. Read, enjoy, and review please.

-Persistence of Love-

Chapter One-Annoying Arrival

The moon shined from a filthy window, and it revealed the ghostly silhouette of a tall and very frail looking man. He was pale, with dark black hair and crimson red eyes just like his splendid cloak that clung to his slim form. He seemed unearthly, such was his beauty, like an angel who had lost its wings and fallen from Heaven.

As beautiful as he was, his surroundings didn't seem to fit. The house around him was decaying and falling into ruin, a mere shadow of what it once was. Just like the man that stood there, his face a mask of coldness. No emotion in that face.

His name was Vincent Valentine.

It was three years after the occurrences of Sephiroth's second coming, when Vincent and his friends had risen to fight once more. The times were peaceful now, but they brought no peace to Vincent's mind. He had begun to wander the world after that, and he hardly contacted his friends. He liked to be alone.

Vincent hadn't seen Cloud and the others since then.

Cloud had called him dozen's of times, desperately trying to get the reclusive man to come and join them for one thing or another. Vincent had ignored those calls, hoping Cloud would give up and leave him to his brooding. At first the blonde had been persistent, and he had called him at least once a day.

Vincent's silence had finally quieted the young man, but instead of him calling it was someone else. Yuffie Kisaragi. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. She was the stubborn one, even more than Cloud could ever hope to be. Yuffie had called him every five minutes at first, but she had lessened to three times a day. He just shut his phone off most of the time.

He heard his phone ring yet again from the distant table. He knew who it was, and he didn't bother to look or acknowledge that he had heard anything. Turning his mind back to his dark thoughts, he shoved Yuffie to the back of his mind.

That's when he heard a knocking on the door, persistent and not likely to stop until he answered it. Vincent who had been standing in front of the window, walked down the hall, his steps making a faint thump as they touched the floor. Upon reaching the door, he pulled it open and looked out into the night to see…

"HEY!!!" squealed Yuffie, jumping through the threshold brighter than life. "You answered!!!" She gave him a warm hug, which made him feel uncomfortable. And that was her greatest talent.

Vincent glowered.

"…Yuffie."

"Aw, c'mon Vincent!" said Yuffie, "Brighten up! I came such a long way to find you! I just knew you'd be here!"

He groaned. _Why_..._? Why couldn't he have some peace?_

Yuffie laughed. "Well, can I come in? Or have I offended the almighty dark and brooding lord of the vampire mansion?"

Vincent didn't grace her with a reply, as he moved out of the away to admit her into the house. The mansion had once been owned by the ShinRa, but had fallen into ruin and with each passing year it continued to do so.

"SO!" said Yuffie, her voice filled with energy. "Are you well!?"

"…I suppose." said Vincent, his voice barely above a whisper.

He led her down the hallway, and into the sitting room he had managed to form over the time he had been here. Since he had come, he had managed to fill the room with a table and some chairs, as well as a couch and a small television which he hardly ever used.

Motioning for her to take a seat at the table, Vincent positioned himself across from her. He would never understand why she did the things she did. Especially her reasoning whenever she spoke to him and was kind to him all the time. She'd done it from the beginning, when they had met. She had always been confusing to him. Not just confusing, but fascinating as well. And how could he forget annoying…

"Hey!" called Yuffie, waving her hands in front of his face. "Earth to Vinny!"

A vein popped in Vincent's head, jerking him back into reality. "My name is Vincent, not _Vinny_. Do well to remember that."

Yuffie laughed. "Relax. You zoned out on me."

He snorted. She had done it just to be annoying.

Yuffie looked around the room. "You live in this dump?"

"…Yes. And I rather like this _dump_ as you call you it, Yuffie."

"No you don't. You hate it here, and yet you stay here. Why?"

Vincent sighed. "Because this place offers me the solitude I want. I never thought anyone would realize I would come here."

It was Yuffie's turn to snort now. "That's stupid." murmured Yuffie, looking a little sad for once. "Everyone is worried about you. Why won't you go and see your friends?"

Vincent looked away from her. What was with her? Why was she acting so strange? What happened to Yuffie being happy? He'd affected her somehow. And he knew what he needed to do. He had to get her out of here, and that would be rather difficult because Yuffie's stubbornness was such that it deserved to be legend.

"Why don't you go now, Yuffie?" asked Vincent, knowing the outrage that would ensue from the obnoxious girl before him.

"Um…I can't." said Yuffie, calmly. This shocked Vincent and he looked at her, as if to make sure she hadn't screamed, blown his eardrums out and he didn't remember.

"Why?" asked Vincent uncertainly, when he realized she had **not** screamed, or yelled.

"Look out the window."

Looking out the window, he immediately saw the problem. It was beginning to downpour and to make matters worse, it was thunder storming. It would be too dangerous for her to leave in this weather.

"WELL!!!" exclaimed Yuffie happily. "Looks like I won't be going anytime soon" And with that she flopped herself more comfortably onto the nearby couch.

Vincent cursed.


	2. The Lost Ninja

Hey, thanks for all your reviews. I was pretty happy to see how many I had gotten. Sorry I haven't been able to write until now, but school is the bane of my existence and it takes up a lot of my time. By the way, in the underground part of the mansion…I went by Dirge of Cerberus to make it fit, but I twisted it a bit…

As I said before, and will say again, the idea was mine. Well please read, enjoy, and review!!!

-Persistence of Love-

Chapter Two-The Lost Ninja

Vincent groaned.

He was facing the window, trying to ignoring Yuffie's constant chatter, though that was proving impossible. She couldn't be quiet for a minute, even if her life depended on it. She would probably kill ANY opponent with her annoying and un-needed babble.

"…Yuffie." Said Vincent suddenly, not even looking at her.

"Yeah, Vincent?" piped up Yuffie, her eyes lighting up. She had finally gotten him to say something.

"Shut up."

Yuffie face-faulted. That wasn't what she had hoped he would say. Not at all…

"Aw, c'mon Vincent, that wasn't very nice."

"…I don't _do _nice."

Yuffie made another face. He was stubborn. She'd give him that. "Fine. Be a ball of mope for all I care." Yuffie huffed, jumping to her feet.

Vincent snorted, but gave her no comprehensible answer. Suddenly, he felt a tugging on his cloak.

"…Yuffie, what are you doing now?" asked Vincent. He felt like he was addressing a child who was misbehaving.

All he got for an answer was another tug on his cloak. He looked around, turning to face Yuffie, who had a fistful of the red material in her hand. She immediately dropped it, smiling sheepishly.

"You really need to get that sewed up, Vin." said Yuffie, looking at his cloak with a cocked brow. "You look like a hobo with all those tears and holes. Couldn't even carry materia."

"Yuffie..."

"What?"

Vincent stared at her and then turned back to the window, trying to ignore her, and when he did that this only increased her resolve to get some words from him. Though he was debating on whether those words should be curses…

"Vincent."

Silence.

"Vincent?"

More silence.

"VINNIE!!!"

This time, she yelled in his ear, catching him off guard, and making him jump. Annoying little ninja…

"…what now?" asked Vincent, his voice flat and controlled. Exactly the opposite of what he was feeling within. In reality, he wanted to strangle her.

Yuffie looked at him a little sadly, walking over and looking deep into his red eyes. She was so worried about him. He was so distant and all she wanted to do was talk with him.

"Y' know Vincent…all I want to do is talk to you. And…well, I'm hungry."

He avoided commenting on her first statement. "…there's no food in this house."

"What?! No food?" Yuffie's face blanched in horror.

The gunman had a feeling that Gaia was testing him by locking him in a house with the ninja like this.

"None." He replied, turning towards her. "The storm shouldn't last too long. You'll live."

Yuffie didn't seem to believe him.

"Then lets do something to pass the time!" suggested Yuffie suddenly. "Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"No."

"Aw, c'mon," said Yuffie, "there has to be something. Like about your parents, the past, what you're interested in…?"

Vincent had gotten up and moved away at this point. Yuffie was so loud. He wasn't sure if he could stand much more of her babbling.

"F-FINE!" yelled Yuffie after him. "GO BE BROODY FOR ALL I CARE! IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME Y-YOU STUPID MOPEY VAMPIRE!" And with that, Yuffie jumped off the couch and ran into the next room, watching his retreating back down a hallway. Fuming, Yuffie ran up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. And that's where she saw a doorway.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she headed over the doorway to find some rickety stairs that spiraled downward and into the darkness. What a strange place this was. It was just like Vincent; full of darkness and mystery. She snorted. That was a corny thought.

So what else could she do? Go down the damn steps of course! And with that she began the dissent downward.

The stairs creaked slightly as she made her way down them, and they made her a little nervous and afraid. It felt like they might fall out from under her. Managing to make it to the bottom, she found herself in a strange cave like area. Weird…she never expected something like this in a mansion.

Walking down the strange passage, she took a bunch of turns, not really paying attention to where she was going. Yuffie was so mad at Vincent that she didn't really think. That is, until she realized something very crucial. Yuffie, the White Rose of Wutai…was lost. Panicking, she ran around, trying to find her way back but ending up in a different place every time.

_I hope Vincent comes looking for me soon_, thought Yuffie desperately, though she was still mad at him.

Right now, she wouldn't mind seeing his tall lithe figure come striding into view. And she knew exactly what he would do. He'd give her a look of quiet annoyance, before motioning for her to follow him back with his usual grace. Yuffie really wished she had never even come down here. All it did was get her lost…and she was even hungrier than before. She frowned at that thought. Great…the reminder of her hunger only heightened the feeling.

_Vincent! You had better find me soon!_

A growl rippled through her ears suddenly, making her eyes widen. She turned and met a pair of glowing red eyes, both looking at her with an intent that she didn't really favor. Even in the darkness she could see its giant canines, dripping with saliva. Mottled fur was bristling with anticipation, and giant claws gleamed in the darkness. And it looked hungry…_very_ hungry. And it was looking directly at her.

Oh well fuck…

Yuffie let out a high pitched scream and took off at a run, the beast letting out an ear splitting roar, charging after her with intense speed. Whimpering with fright, the ninja tried to throw her ninja star start at it, but she was so scared that she missed, though it _was_ a narrow one at that. Having no time to go and retrieve her lost weapon, she kept running, a scream escaping again as she ran.

Meanwhile for Vincent…

Vincent had been walking quietly down the hall, about to go and apologize to Yuffie, when he heard a scream that made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. _Yuffie_…

Cursing, the crimson gunman followed the sound, drawing the Cerberus quickly, running toward the door and completely disregarding the stairs, jumping all the way down and landing in a crouch before taking off at a sprint.

Another scream reached his ears, and the roar of a monster followed. Damnit…Yuffie always had to get herself into a stupid pinch like this. And he, Vincent, had to bail her out. Cocking the Cerberus, he kept moving, measuring his breathing so that he wouldn't be too tired when he arrived on the scene.

Red cape billowing behind him, he skidded to a halt, sighting the creature quickly enough, as it had Yuffie pinned to ground as she vainly attempted to push it off of her. Vincent pulled the trigger without hesitation, sending three deadly bullets of lead its way. It turned, snarled, and then shot out of the way in a flash, barreling toward him, ready to tear him limb from limb.

Cocking the gun, Vincent prepared for a fight.


	3. Roar of the Demon

I have to mention…I had a lot of trouble with the last chapter. Every time I uploaded it, I noticed a mistake and had to remove it and re-upload the changes. But at least I got it up…--;; Well, here's the third chapter. Please, enjoy.

-Persistence of Love-

Chapter Three-Roar of the Demon

Yuffie was terrified out of her mind, and she screamed in fear as she felt the beast leap on her and pin her to the hard floor, though she managed to shove upward enough to stop it from ripping her throat out. It snarled dangerously in her face, saliva dribbling from its open mouth, sharp incisors inches from her face.

Then from a distance, she heard feet pounding into the floor at a high speed, racing toward her in all haste. _Vincent_! Who else could it be but the gunman and he was heading her way. The ninja's focus returned to the beast atop of her as it snarled and started to try and tear her throat out again. Whimpering once more, she struggled and fought against with what strength she had left but she sensed that soon it would overpower her.

Vincent darted into the room only seconds later, quickly taking in the situation, before acting on it with his best judgment. Raising the Cerberus, he fired, three hot bullets making their way toward the beast. Its mottled fur bristled at the sound and it turned towards him, growled, and then darted out of the way of the deadly projectiles, before charging at him with a roar.

He fired again, a bullet grazing its ear, before narrowly dodging out of the way of the rampaging monster, its claws ripping a tear into his crimson cloak that flared out behind him. Cursing inwardly, Vincent reloaded the Cerberus quickly as the beast took a sharp turn and made its way toward him again, teeth bared. He fired again, hitting it in the leg, causing it to yelp in pain, before letting out a howl. It echoed in the cavern, and then another howled from some distance away.

Another one was on its way.

_Damnit_. thought Vincent. _Another one?_

The second beast charged into view, red eyes gleaming as it came to aid the other that had called it. Both beasts looked at Vincent, and then charged at him simultaneously, tackling him to the ground with tremendous force. A strangled yell escaped Vincent's lips as he hit the floor, though he managed to move his claw in the way as one of them made an attempt at gashing his throat opem.

Yuffie had managed to snap out of her daze to realize that Vincent was in trouble. Glaring, the weaponless ninja jumped to her feet and kicked one of them off, a yelp ringing through the air in response. The other was focused on Vincent, trying to bite through the claw, all while clawing whatever body part it could reach.

Beast number two was back on its feet, its crimson eyes set on Yuffie, and it was personal this time. Gulping, Yuffie charged at it recklessly in attempt to confuse it, which worked for a moment, until it made its way forward and pinned her to the ground, racking her arms and causing blood to flow.

Vincent was fighting the monster with all his strength when the heated smell of blood reached his nose within seconds. Something rumbled within him, the demon inside of him maddened and enticed at the delicious and sweet aroma. An internal roar shook him to the core of his soul as a red aura began to emanate from his body.

His eyes gleamed with cat-like pupils, and his whole body went slack for the scarcest of a moment. The monster atop of him took its chance, forcing his arm out of the way and sending a deadly claw in for a death blow. A demonic roar ripped through the gunman as a heavily clawed arm shot out and grabbed the beast by the throat, stopping it an inch from his own throat.

Chaos was awake and ready to kill.

Rising, the demon threw the beast into a nearby wall, smirking when he heard its back break with a sharp crack that made the other beast freeze. Yuffie lay unconscious from the shock of losing so much blood so quickly. Her arms were a bloody mess, a testament to her attempts of defending herself from the beasts' deadly teeth.

Chaos let out a hiss at the monster before him, warning him that if he continued, he'd end up like his partner. The beast flicked it's eyes to its now dead ally, before growling and turning tail, running quickly from the tunnel and out of sight.

Inside of Chaos's mind, Vincent was enraged that he had taken over his body without his permission.

_Chaos! What do you think you're doing!_

_**Helping.**_

_What do you mean helping!? I had everything under control._

_**Really? You were pinned to the floor, while your mate was being ripped apart.**_

…_that's not the point! And she isn't my 'mate', as you choose to call her!_

_**Host…shut up. I saved your life. And hers.**_

…_I hate you._

_**I know.**_

Chaos chuckled darkly, before hurrying over to Yuffie, lifting her gently from the dirt floor. The heated smell of blood reached his nose, but he ignored the temptation of licking it off her arms. It was maddeningly sweet and he could all but taste it. Licking his lips all the same, the demon made his way through the 'maze' and back up the winding stairs.

He didn't want to know how the ninja had gotten lost down here. The exit had been over fifteen feet away from her the whole time. Chaos growled. Humans had a terrible sense of direction. Snorting at that thought, he made his way back into the living room, ignoring the thunderstorm that was still raging outside. Setting Yuffie on the couch, Chaos reverted to Vincent's usual form, while maintaining control. It was fun what he could do when his host wasn't in the way.

Rummaging around in the room, Chaos found a first aid kit and some cure materia in the room, before approaching Yuffie with these things. Setting them down, he contacted Vincent telepathically in his mind.

_**Host.**_

_What?Are you done yet?_

_**I'm bored and I can't eat the ninja, so you take care of her.**_

…_bloodthirsty monster._

_**Thank you for the compliment. Now get out here and help her.**_

That said, Chaos returned control to Vincent.

Newly restored to his body once more, Vincent grabbed the first aid and set to work on Yuffie, ignoring Chaos who was trying to get him to lick off the blood. What the hell was Chaos? A bloody vampire…?

Using the cure materia, he healed up the wound as best he could, before dabbing it with alcohol lightly. Yuffie moaned slightly, shifting in her sleep, before going still once more. Finishing with that, he wrapped up her wounds with bandages, being careful not to wrap them too tightly. Cutting off circulation wouldn't do her any good.

Pulling up a chair, Vincent sat back to keep watch on Yuffie, rain falling hard outside and clattering into the roof loudly, thunder ringing out loudly, lightning lighting up the sky once in a while. And despite this, Yuffie slept on, hardly stirring as time passed and the storm raged.

Suddenly, Vincent noticed a stray strand of hair in her face. Reaching out with a gloved hand, he brushed it away gently. His crimson eyes watched her for signs of movement while doing this, before flicking away.

And with an ear shattering boom, Vincent and Yuffie were thrust into darkness.


End file.
